The ramblings of a pilgrim through time, space, and life.

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Lausanne, Geneva, and Paris

We did not have internet in Paris, so there has been a long silence. Perhaps that is a good thing.

As a note, I did upload some photos on the blog. They were the ones from Dresden. Well, a few. I hit my limit for the month for how many photos I can upload. As soon as July 1st hits, I will start uploading again. Sorry. There are some great pictures from Dresden and Meissen.

We left Bern and started making our way to Paris. We were planning on hitting the temple in Bern but after trying to figure out the buses, taxis, or trains with attendant costs, backpacks, and traveling all day in our church clothes, we threw in the towel. We just started out for Paris.

We made stops in Lausanne and Geneva. Lausanne was beautiful. The view coming in over Lake Geneva was amazing. Some of the Alps between Bern and Lausanne were breathtaking, much like the Alps we passed through in Northern Italy. We were supposed to catch a train directly from Lausanne to Paris, but it was fully booked. We were able to book a train from Geneva so we knew our time in Lausanne was limited. We decided to hike up to the Lausanne Notre-Dame. We stopped at some church on the way, St. Michaels or whatever. We heard an Oomp Pah Pah (who knows what they are really called) in a park near the cathedral. It was so hot, the sun was killing us, and we were wearing our backpacks climbing an asphalt mountain made for a welcome arrival at the top. We enjoyed the hike back down to the station to head off for Geneva.

We had limited time at Geneva as well. We walked over and saw the famous Jet d’Eau and enjoyed what little comfort the breeze brought to us from it. It just made us want to jump into the water for some salvation from the heat. We walked through the park to see the flower clock, which all these watch-makers got together to show their prowess. This massive clock set in a flower bed. However, it was more than 6 hours off, not one of the hands was on the right time. Watch making prowess must have been a think of the past. We then walked up to Saint Peter’s Cathedral where we toured where John Calvin taught. The University of Geneva is right next door. It was all very fascinating. We then had to make our way back down to the train station so we could head off to Paris.

The ride to Paris could have been better. We ended up in an assigned seat going backwards. Plus this train was going much faster than the other trains we have been riding on it and it swayed back and forth. I got sea sick on a train! Boy was I glad when we got to land. I wasn’t feeling well.

The next few days in Paris were a blur. It was miserably hot, again, for the first two days. We walked loads and both of us ended up with blisters on our feet. Probably more from the swelling of our feet rubbing. I was fortunate enough to get blisters between my big and index toes on both feet. Amanda got them on top from her flip flops. But it was quite the couple of days in Paris. We hit all the big sites, except the Pantheon. Arc de Triumphe, Place de la Concorde, Place de la Bastille, Champs-Elysees, Montmarte, L’Opera, Saint Denis Cathedral, Basilique du Sacre-Coeur, Louvre, Tuileries Gardens, Invalides, Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame de Paris, and Palais Versailles. I am sure that is not even a full list. But we saw them, and much of Paris in between.

Since it is late here, only a few highlights. Amanda got to see the sun set from the top of the Eiffel Tower on the longest day of the year. I was there too. How romantic is that? We had a fancy, full french meal before ascending the Eiffel’s nearly 700 steps to the second state. Mine included deep fried turkey and marinated (basically pickled) red peppers. I probably could have done without the peppers. My baklava was amazing!

We climbed more than 1000 steps between Notre-Dame and the Eiffel Tower in one day. On other days we climbed mont marte and a whole list of other stairs. Add to that the oppressive heat, and some days we were about as good as dead when we got back to our hotel room. Our hotel had no air conditioning!

We enjoyed French pastries every morning and every time Amanda would let us.

We did see the Venis d’ Milo and Mona Lisa, along with scores too many of other artworks.

The Metro of Paris is wonderful. We could get to nearly anywhere in relative comfort. However, some of them were hot and the air hung with a motor oil smell and greasiness.

We are glad to be back Oostrozebeke, Belgium for a day of laundry and relaxing. Thursday we fly out for Glasgow. Britain, here we come!